An Orphan's Love
by sarahtheweber
Summary: Kakashi has always loved Iruka, and on a mission together where the chuunin is captured, he realizes just how deep that love is. Rated M for possible lemon way later and some violence. Yaoi, KakaIru
1. Why Me?

Iruka normally really hated missions that took him away from his work at the school, but for once, he was very excited. A small village at the edge of Fire Country had been all but destroyed by a group of ninja from the village hidden in Sand and he and one jounin were going to find any survivors. They knew the small orphanage had been spared, so who better to bring than a ninja who dealt with children all the time? He would be very useful on the way back to Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei, how far until the orphanage?" Iruka turned to the tall silver-haired jounin who was leading their mission and smiled. "I would love to get those children to safety as soon as possible..."

"It's about a half a mile west of here, Iruka." Iruka tensed slightly. He and Kakashi barely knew each other and the man was talking to him without any honorifics... And that horrible smut he was reading... _Dear Kami... Why him? Why did I have to get stuck with him...?_

"Well, Kakashi-_sensei_, do I have permission to visit the orphanage while you search the village?" He glared at the older copy-nin, hating that he had to listen to his every order.

Kakashi chuckled at Iruka's glare. _He really does look quite delicious when he's angry._ When Iruka only glared more, he nodded slightly. "We'll meet here tomorrow at nightfall. If I'm not here, get any children you find to safety. I'll find you if you don't show. Run to the village or stay at the orphanage if you find any trouble. You're too _valuable_ to our village to lose." He smirked as Iruka became a shade redder at his remark, knowing he had to get away now before the chuunin's famous fury was unleashed upon him. "Bye, Ruka!" He quickly ducked a rock that flew at his head and teleported away.

~O-Kakashi-O~

_Kami, that was close... Why did Tsunade have to pair me with Iruka of all people...?_ Kakashi sighed heavily and began his walk towards the village. _Oh yeah... Because she loves torturing me..._ _She knows I... I love him..._ He flushed as he thought the words, though he knew they were true.

~~!Flashback!~~

Ever since Iruka had had his little outburst before the chuunin exams, Kakashi had been interested. At first it had been pure curiosity, how could a simple _chuunin_ be brave enough to speak out of turn in such an important meeting, let alone speak against his superiors. After close observation for about six months, though, Kakashi knew he was doomed. Every day he looked forward to watching the chuunin in all of his activities, from teaching to cooking to doing his laundry. Sure, he felt a little bad for perching in the branches of Iruka's trees to spy on him, but he felt a connection to the other man. A connection which had turned to infatuation and then to... love.

Kakashi knew it was love when one day Iruka didn't go to the academy and wasn't at home all day. The copy-nin had waited all night and was very worried... Worried enough to burst into Tsunade's house and demand where his Iruka was. After the initial explosion for being woken up at three in the morning, Kakashi had learned that the chuunin was out on a mission and was gone until next week. Breathing a sigh of relief, the jounin turned to leave, only to be stopped by a smiling Tsunade. Only... This smile made him, a battle hardened ninja, shudder in terror.

"Why do you have such a sudden interest in Iruka-sensei all of a sudden, brat?" she had said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Nothing, Tsunade-sama." He had tried his hardest to not show any emotion, but some must have gotten through to the sannin.

"Then I guess I'll just have to send him out on a long mission... Too bad." She had smiled that evil smile again before turning to her desk to jot down a note.

"N-no! Don't. Please!" Kakashi had really hated himself at that moment... He had shown weakness. And he had shown it to one of the many people in the village who would use it against him.

"Why not, Hatake? It's not like you care about a weak little _chuunin_ right?"

"He isn't weak! He had the guts to stand up to the previous hokage and a group of jounin because of what he believed in, even though he knew he would lose. He took that chance! That's strength." He glared at the hokage, knowing that he couldn't do anything but glare.

"It seems that our dear copy-nin is in love." The smile was aimed at him again, but he stood strong, refusing to show he was weak by shuddering again. "How... sweet." Her smile changed, softened, and she put her pen and paper down. "Everyone deserves happiness, Hatake... Even you."

He stood there, thinking for a second. "Perhaps, Tsunade, but... He deserves happiness and he probably wouldn't be happy with me. I don't want to be the cause of unhappiness in any of my friends. So... Please just tell me when you send him out on any extended missions so I can send Pakkun to keep him safe..." He had turned and walked out, ignoring anything else the hokage tried saying to him. The next day he was sent out on a month long mission to assassinate a missing-nin. He hadn't gotten to see his chuunin come back...

~O-Iruka-O~

_Kami! Why is he so... Irritating!_ Iruka stomped in the direction Kakashi had pointed, fuming. _Does Tsunade-sama really hate me this much? She knows we hate each other... Kami, why!?_

Iruka had only spoken to Kakashi a handful of times since the Chuunin Exams, and each time had been very tense and, for Kakashi at least, informal. He knew the copy-nin was just playing with him, and that hurt. Before his outburst, the two ninja had had a pretty okay relationship. It was friendly and easy. They'd talk when Kakashi came to get his secret missions, and sometimes when he was visiting Naruto or Sasuke. He wanted that back...

Iruka didn't realize he had reached a large building until he almost ran into it. _Is this is? It looks so... Old. It's as if no one has been here for years..._ The building was almost covered in vines and most of the windows had been broken. _From the inside out... Like someone really wanted to get out..._ Iruka shuddered and walked around to see if he could find an entrance.

_Maybe the Sand-nin did attack here as well..._ When Iruka finally found a large front door, he smiled. _I'm here kids. You don't have to wait any longer!_ He walked toward the entrance and froze, dread and terror filling his body. _What... Something is wrong..._ Turning around, he saw nothing in the woods behind him, but he still felt the dread. On a whim, he cleaned off the metal plaque on the doors and froze again.

_Mental Asylum- Children's Ward:_

_Dangerous Cases_

_Keep Out!_

_What the hell!? Wasn't this was supposed to be an orphanage!_ Iruka backed away from the building, fighting the urge to turn and run. He was absolutely terrified about what was still in there and now out in the woods. _Maybe it wasn't Sand-nin who did this... Maybe..._ Walking over to the piles of glass in the grass from the windows, he gasped. A child was there, not much older than his students, and she was picking through the shards of glass, obviously searching for something, but cutting her arms up in the process of looking.

"Hey, sweetie? What happe- Oh sweet Kami..." The girl had turned towards him in the middle of his question, and growled a feral growl. That wasn't what had terrified Iruka, though. Her eyes were blood red and her teeth were all little sharp points that looked capable of tearing flesh from bone. The chuunin quickly pulled out a kunai knife, holding it in front of him in a defensive posture. He very slowly backed away from the feral girl wondering what other surprises he would find in the woods.

When the girl was out of sight, he turned to walk forward, keeping his guard up in case she came to find him. _Maybe there are children still alive in there... I... I have to check it out! Sorry Kakashi... I have to break orders..._ He slowly walked into the ominous building, hoping there was a couple he could possibly save.

~O-Pakkun-O~

The little pug watching from the forest gave a soft whimper. That building was giving off a horrible scent of death and torture... _I have to go tell Kakashi what that stupid chuunin is doing!_

He turned and yelped. That little feral child was right behind him, her mouth watering. _I don't like where this is going... _She lunged at him and he shot out of the way, trying to lead her to a more open area where he could defend himself. He ran full out, remembering a clearing close by, but a weight slamming into his back sent him sprawling to the ground with another yelp.

Quickly getting to his feet, Pakkun began growling at the girl, his hackles raised. "Listen girly, you don't want to do this. I will fight back and I _will_ win. So go back to searching through your glass for whatever the hell it was that you wanted and leave me alone." He snapped at the air, trying to show his dominance, but the girl was too hungry to care. She lunged at him, aiming for the throat, but yet again the pug dodged.

"Food... Food... Food!..." It wasn't more than an animalistic growl as it came out of the girl, but Pakkun got the message. It was either going to be her dying or he was going to be dinner.

_Kami help me... _He barked at the girl, slowly pacing back and forth in front of her, waiting for an opening to attack. After a couple minutes, the girl's impatience and need for food clouded her judgment. She attacked again and Pakkun moved out of the way again, using that as an opening to rake his claws along her belly. The girl screamed and bit down hard on the closest part of the pug she could reach: one of his sensitive ears. She jerked her head and Pakkun felt a white hot pain, causing another yelp to slide past his throat.

Pakkun growled and used the girl's injury to his advantage, trying to ignore his own. She was becoming sluggish, and the next time she attacked, he lunged at her neck, clamping down hard on her neck. She screamed again, clawing frantically at the little dog that only bit down harder and harder until he felt skin and veins popping and ripping. Only when he heard the snap of bone and she collapsed did Pakkun allow his vise-like grip slacken.

Taking inventory of his injuries, the pug was glad that all he suffered from were shallow scratches and his torn up ear. _That could have been so much worse... I have to go tell that stupid jounin that the stupid sensei just most likely walked into his death!_ He ran off into the forest, keeping his guard up for anymore surprise attacks from anything worse than a feral little girl.

~O-O~

He broke out of the forest, an hour or so later, running toward the village at top speed. "Kakashi! Kakashi!" He sped towards the jounin's familiar scent and almost ran into him. Kakashi took in the pug's injuries and his face hardened.

"Iruka?..."

"Missed the orphanage. Walked into mental ward. Dangerous." The dog flopped onto his side, his sides heaving as he tried to catch his breath from the full out run. "Stupid chuunin..."

Kakashi growled softly and it took a second for Pakkun to realize it wasn't aimed at him, but at the situation. "What happened to you? Were there more of them? _What happened?!_" Kneeling down, he took the pug's ear into his hand, trying his best to stop the steady flow of blood.

Making a noise of appreciation, Pakkun moved his ear tentatively, wagging his tail when there was much less pain. "Not as good as a medic-nin, boss, but still pre-"

"Pakkun!" The visible grey eye was far angrier than Pakkun had ever wanted to see the infamous Hound...

"It was a little girl. She looked starved and was feral. I think... I think she came from the asylum. There was the scent of sand-nin everywhere, so I think they let all the inmates out or something. Boss, your boy toy walked right in. The girl didn't give him a second look... Something was fishy about it all... I don't like it..." The dog unconsciously whimpered softly, not liking where this situation was going.

"Pakkun. Lead me there. _NOW._" Kakashi was already striding towards the woods, knowing full well he could trace Iruka without Pakkun, but not wanting to waste the time. The pug only barked and stood, running off ahead of the jounin toward the asylum. _Please be okay, Ruka... Please... Kami, please..._


	2. Sand Meets Leaves

~O-Iruka-O~

It took his eyes a second to adjust to the sudden darkness of the entrance hall of the asylum, and while his eyes adjusted, he reached out with his chakra, trying to detect anyone close by. When he found nothing but an occasional mouse and bird, Iruka frowned and opened his eyes. The inside of the ancient building looked very new and clean compared to its exterior. _Well this adds to the mystery of this place... _Still with a defensive posture and hold on his kunai knife, Iruka began to creep through the first hallway that branched off the main one.

"What in Kami's name..." Each and every one of the doors was made of thick steel with bars across the window at the top. What had Iruka worrying the most, though, was the fact that all of them were open and hanging haphazardly on their strong hinges. Looking up, he saw levels upon levels of similar looking cells, their doors in the same state as the first floors. _Maybe I shouldn't be in here... _

A door slammed behind him and Iruka whirled around to try to face the noise, but nothing was there. The door at the end off the hall, which was as big and thick as the cell doors, was closed and locked. _Oh Kami... Shit... _An evil laugh sounded around the hall, echoing off the walls and doors and making it sound like it was coming from everywhere.

"Who are you? What have you done here?!" Iruka backed up against the wall as he tried to pinpoint the noise, not wanting to leave his back open for attack.

The laugh abruptly cut off and a female voice, full of ice, came from above him. "Here I thought that the great Hidden Leaf Village would send more that a single weak looking ninja." Iruka quickly dodged a kunai knife that came from the darkness of the upper levels of the hallway and threw out a small chakra burst, trying to pinpoint the source. "Who knew that any ninja could be this weak…?" A fist slammed into his temple and Iruka quickly dropped to his knees, his head swimming too badly to stay on his feet.

He was kicked down onto his stomach and a weight settled in between his shoulder blades. Before he realized what was happening, the weight on his back shifted and his wrists were quickly captured and bound. "Hey! Tsukiko-sama! You can stop fucking around with him now! I've got him!"

"Very good, Akemi, you have done well." A shape dropped gracefully to the ground a couple feet from Iruka's head and he looked up.

What…? He gasped softly at the woman… No, the _girl_ in front of him. She looked no older than Naruto was and it was quite apparent that she had already been in many vicious battles. Her cropped black hair and cocked sand headband did nothing to cover the many scars on her scalp and there was a fresh wound on her otherwise flawless face that went from her eyebrow to her chin on the opposite side. Her dark green eyes bored into his as he stared at the many other scars, bruises and cuts that adorned all of her skin that showed and a smirk slowly appeared on her face.

"Aren't they beautiful? Each and every one has a different story." She smiled at the memories, reaching up to run her hands over her almost bald head. "Each one had a different glorious death to go along with it." Laughing maniacally, she took a couple steps toward the defenseless chuunin and crouched down in front of him. "This one, this horrible mark," she gestured angrily at the fresh mark on her face, "was given by a very strong boy in the village we just destroyed. I almost recruited him, but then he got that stupid knife…" She frowned slightly, eyes narrowed to slits, before she grinned widely again. "So I ripped his throat out. It was glorious how he struggled, even as his precious blood poured from his body." A small shiver went through her body as she turned her smile to Iruka.

~O-Kakashi-O~

"Pakkun?!" Kakashi ran to the pug, which had collapsed within fifteen minutes of running full out back towards the asylum. Kneeling in front of his dog, Kakashi felt helpless, nothing seemed to be physically wrong with him, but the pug's breathing was labored and his eyes were dilated past what was normal. "Pakkun, what's wrong?"

"D-dunno, boss... Chest... Restricting... Something... W-wrong..." Whimpering softly, Pakkun stared into his master's eyes, begging him to help relieve what was happening inside of him. "Ear... Hurts... Bad..." He struggled to get each word out, barely able to breathe anymore.

The jounin's eye narrowed slightly. "Your ear...? Again?" His dog whimpered again, nodding slightly. "I... I healed that..." He put his hand over the torn ear, sending out a probing chakra into the healed wound. _What the hell did that girl do to my dog!?_ He shuddered as he hit small traces of a deadly feeling chakra. Meeting no resistance as he probed harder, he sent out a small burst into Pakkun's ear, knowing it would hurt, but also knowing that it would disintegrate the last of the chakra, hopefully releasing the barely breathing dog from its hold.

A small groan escaped Pakkun's lips, but his breathing almost instantaneously became easier. "Thanks... Boss..."

Kakashi absentmindedly drew the pug into his lap, stroking his fur softly. "Rest up, Pakkun. We're in for a difficult fight..." He shuddered again, remembering how evil the foreign chakra had felt. _That girl... Her bite did this... We need to be careful... There's more than just the inmates of that asylum around..._ He was absolutely terrified for Iruka and Pakkun sensed this.

"Boss, he'll be okay... He may only be a chuunin, but he's very smart. He'll survive until we get there..." He wagged his tail, trying to make the jounin feel better about this situation. "It'll be okay..."

"I really hope you're right, Pakkun. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him..." He stared forlornly out into the woods around them. _I don't know what I'd do if I lost someone else I care about... I can't handle losing someone else... Please Kami..._

~O-Iruka-O~

A giggle came from the blonde boy who had been on Iruka's back as Tsukiko slowly cut another small patch of skin off of the chuunin's now bare chest. They had moved him, hanging his bound wrists from a hook in one of the cells. "Why won't you break, you stupid ninja!? I've been cutting at you nonstop for the past ten minutes!" Tsukiko growled softly. "Break, damn it!" She slammed her blade hilt deep into Iruka's upper right arm, twisting slightly.

"N-never..." The chuunin gasped in pain and glared at the girl in front of him. "I will never betray my village, my hokage, my friends!" She twisted again and he clamped his mouth shut, holding back a cry of pain. _Kami... Oh dear Kami..._

"That is beautiful, Tsukiko-sama! Absolutely beautif-" A senbon came out of nowhere, embedding itself in the soft part of the boy's arm, causing him to yelp. "Damn it, Eiji! Why do you always do that to me!?"

A chuckle came from a tall boy walking towards them. "Stop sucking up to her, Akemi. She doesn't like bottom-feeders like you." He grinned evilly at the whimpering boy who was trying to pull the senbon out without hurting himself even more.

_What kind of person would do that to an ally...? _After getting a good look at him, Iruka's stomach clenched and he knew why. The boy's eyes held a blood lust that the chuunin knew that would make even Kakashi falter, and that wasn't the most terrifying thing about him. Those death filled eyes were red. _Blood red. Just like that little girl... _He suppressed a shudder, knowing that Eiji somehow had had control over her.

"Ah! Eiji, you're back. What's your report?" Tsukiko turned to the other boy, clearly irritated at the interruption. "It had better be good, or your punishment will be rather... Messy..." She chuckled darkly and turned towards him, the look on her face causing him to go pale.

"I-It's good, Tsukiko-sama! One of m-my pets just took out an enemy! A horrible little pug that was trailing this man." He grinned and turned toward Iruka who was gaping in horror. "He put up a very good fight. Killed my poor pet... But the chakra infused poison that I coat their teeth with... He's definitely dead by now." His death filled eyes lit up with glee as he watched pain filled emotions flit across the chuunin's face. Iruka looked down to calm himself as the sand-nin discussed more of what Eiji saw. "There's a silver haired nin in the village. I sent some of my pets after him. The blood hounds." Iruka's head shot up and he glared at the three young ninja in front of him.

"You bastards! Do you know who he is!? He'll come here and destroy you all... Just you wait... He'll stop you..." _And save me..._ He didn't know why he had such an outburst, but it had felt good to say. _Maybe it's all the stress. Or this pain. It hurts so much more than it should... Kami... Kakashi... Please... Save me..._

~O-Tsukiko, Eiji-O~

"So he finally passed out, eh? How long has he lasted against that cursed blade?" Eiji gestured at the dagger his boss had been using on the Konoha ninja. "Did you poison it like you did last time?"

"No, you dolt... I just put a mild sedative on it. He'll be much more... Breakable... After he wakes up." Tsukiko bared her teeth at the boy. "He'll regret ever being born!" She took a new kunai knife out of her belt and walked over to the chuunin. "Maybe he'd like another line across his face like this one on his cheek... Or the sand symbol carved into his back." She ran the blade along the skin of his cheek, causing a small trickle of blood to pop up.

"I don't see why you love torturing them all the time, boss... I'd just kill him..." Akemi finally piped up from the corner where he had gone to after he removed the senbon.

"It's fun. That's why." Eiji grinned and fingered another senbon, wondering if Tsukiko would mind if he killed the blonde. He was too weak... Akemi squeaked and all but ran out of the room, stuttering out something about having to secure the building. Having those blood lust filled eyes trained on him so often was absolutely terrifying...

"Thank you, Eiji. I honestly don't know why I keep him around..." Tsukiko turned back to Iruka's limp form and finally decided. "I'll just give his body symmetry!" She chuckled evilly and stabbed the kunai deep in his left arm, loving how he flinched, even completely knocked out.

Her dark haired subordinate stared at her in awe; he absolutely loved seeing her like this, covered in blood with her eyes flashing. "Can I have him after he wakes up? Leaf-nin are always so fun to play with." His chuckle died at his lips as Tsukiko turned a death glare at him.

"No. He's _mine._ Come near him and I'll kill you, Eiji. Don't doubt that I won't." The sadistic smile on her face gave Eiji the chills as he slowly backed away.

"S-Sorry, boss... I guess... I'll go check to see how my pets are doing with the other Leaf-nin..." He slowly grabbed Iruka's headband and left the room, not turning his back to Tsukiko, and shot through the hall, quickly leaving the building to find Kakashi.

~O-Kakashi-O~

The copy-nin was frantic with worry... It was getting dark already and Pakkun was just getting to his feet after the collapse. A feeling of dread that was impossible to shake was slowly filling his body. _Kami... Please let him be okay..._

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his left arm that slowly faded into a dull throb. _What...?_ Kakashi ignored the pain, continuing to follow the small pug. Not too long after, though, a very similar pain happened in his other arm, causing him to gasp and slow to a stop. _What in Kami's name..._

In the distance, but too close for Kakashi's comfort, there came a chorus of howls and barks. "Hello there, Konoha ninja." A tall boy came out of the forest, a smirk on his face. Reaching out with his chakra, the jounin felt the same evil presence that had attacked Pakkun. As he was about to attack, the enemy threw something him which he easily caught. "I wouldn't attack me if I were you, baka. We have your friend."

Kakashi glanced at the item in his hand and froze. It as Iruka's headband. Covered in blood. _I... Iruka... No... _He glared at the boy in front of him, a murderous rage in his uncovered eye. "Where the fuck is he?"


	3. Covered in Blood

AN: Hey guys! Chapter three is finally out! :) Just letting you know it was a bitch to write... I don't like hurting Iruka this much, but... My story needs it. ;A; MAI POOR BABEE

Anyway! Warning for this chapter... It has matureish content. So be warned.

Enjoy!

* * *

~O-Kakashi, Eiji-O~

Kakashi stood, tall and strong, across from the sand-nin, "I'll give you one last chance to answer my question, you little whelp… Where the fuck is he?" Though his mind had been racing mere seconds ago over the fact that they had his chuunin and had injured him, Kakashi was now thinking very clearly. He just _had_ to get Iruka home alive, and if that meant a mass assassination of these sand-nin, then so be it.

Eiji grinned and shook his head. "Sorry, _old man_. You aren't getting anywhere near him." He whistled softly and a long howl resounded around the forest, coming from every angle around them. Pakkun began growling softly and moved in closer to Kakashi, meaning to protect his master to the death. Suddenly, the howling stopped and Eiji's grin widened. "This is the closest you're going to get to him. My pets will make sure of that."

Bright red eyes slowly began appearing in between the trees surrounding them, all trained on the copy-nin and his dog and all filled with the same blood-lust Eiji held in his own dark red eyes. Another whistle from the sand-nin had the eyes moving, all stalking toward the pair, finally showing the horrendous creatures. The blood hounds were built like wolves, but larger, about the size of his biggest dog. Mud matted their long black fur together and their long muzzles were absolutely covered in dry blood. As they stalked forward, Kakashi noted that their claws were digging deep gouges into the earth and their teeth were so sharp that they were cutting through their lips. _This is going to be fun… Kami help me…_

"You'll never see that weakling ninja again!" Eiji began giggling maniacally as he raised an arm, signaling his hounds to attack. "Kill him and you can eat all you want tonight, boys!" The six hounds surrounded Kakashi and he grinned under his mask, the hounds may have looked dangerous, but they were very slow in all of their movements. As long as he didn't get his, he could do this.

The jounin wrapped Iruka's headband around his waist, securing it tightly before bending down to whisper to Pakkun. "Find him, Pakkun. Make sure he's alive. Tell him that I'm coming." He smiled softly at the pug and gently patted his head. "Make sure he knows that I'm _not_ leaving him to these monsters. Now… Go!"

Pakkun ran as fast as he could away from the jounin, narrowly dodging a bite from one of the blood hounds. _Boss…Be safe…_

~O-Iruka-O~

Pain flooded Iruka's mind as he woke up… First the sharp pain in each of his arms that intensified with every breath and movement, then the burning pain from his cheek and chest. He opened his eyes and glanced over at his arms, gasping softly. _The hell…_Short daggers were stabbed hilt deep in the flesh and looked as if they had been twisted to cause more pain. _What the…Oh yeah…My hosts are psychopaths…But when did they do the second one...? And my cheek? _He couldn't see the wound on his cheek, but he could certainly feel it, and it didn't feel deep at all, thank Kami.

"Glad to see that you're finally awake, you stupid man." Iruka turned his head to face the sound and saw Akemi standing in the door with two other boys, grinning wickedly. They walked in and Akemi came over to inspect the chuunin's wounds. "Yoichi! Keep watch. Make sure Tsukiko doesn't come in. Toshi! Hold him so I can have my fun." He grinned wider as Iruka struggled against his bindings and against Toshi's strong hold. "Fun for me at least! ~" Giggling, he moved to gently stroke the pads of his thumbs across Iruka's nipples, working them into hard little buds.

"Get off of me you fucking pervert!" The chuunin growled and spit at Akemi, earning himself a slap.

"Speak only when spoken to, little bitch!" He grabbed the remains of Iruka's shirt and wiped the spit off of his face before shoving it into the chuunin's mouth, using it as a makeshift gag. "If you listen and be good, I may spare you some pain. Maybe." He laughed sadistically and returned his attentions to the tanned chest in front of him.

Iruka closed his eyes and turned his head away from the sick man who was touching him. _No… Please Kami… Please stop this…I don't deserve…This…_He gasped softly as hands gripped at the dagger in his right arm and twisted slightly.

"You're going to watch me while I do this, baka. Half the fun is scarring you more than Tsukiko ever could." His hand drifted back down, this time passing Iruka's hand and moving to the hem of his pants. Iruka shook his head vigorously as Akemi slipped past the fabric of the pants and his boxers. Akemi's hand found his cock at the same moment his mouth found his recently freed nipple and the chuunin cried out from behind the gag. This didn't feel right at all…

_Please…No…_ He whimpered softly until another slap silenced him and forced him into submission. There wasn't exactly much he could do to defend himself at this moment. Every movement was painful and he was being held tightly by ropes and a pair of hands. He had no hope of escape… He obediently kept unseeing eyes trained on Akemi as the sand-nin pulled his pants down and bit at his thighs harshly, barely registering the blood that was flowing from each and every bite or how close the sand-nin was getting to his now uncovered cock. _Save me…_

~O-Tsukiko-O~

Tsukiko wandered the halls of the asylum after Iruka passed out, pondering what to do next to get him to break. Each idea that came to her mind sounded even more tantalizing to the sadistic sand-nin, but each idea could end up with her having a dead ninja and no information…

_What if I torture his friend in front of him...? Have him watch as I chop off fingers and toes until he speaks...? _Smiling, she turned back towards Iruka's cell, wanting to see if he was awake and ready to say anything else yet. If not… She laughed at what she would get to do if he yet again refused to speak. _Wait…Eiji sent his hounds out for the other Nin…Shit! I need him alive!_ She dashed towards the entrance, hoping to find her subordinate before he killed her one ticket for secrets from Konoha.

~O-Kakashi, Eiji-O~

The silver haired nin stood in the middle of a pile of dead hounds, covered in blood and panting softly. His one grey eye locked with the sand-nin's dark ones and he growled. "Are you going to answer me now, whelp? All you have to do is tell me where Iruka is, and I'll make your death quick." He was filled with a murderous rage that had Eiji shaking like a leaf.

"I-I… Never!" His head suddenly slammed back against a tree so hard that he saw stars for a minute or two.

"Where. The fuck. Is he? Tell me before I start getting angry..." He growled again and Eiji went pale.

_If he's not angry now... Then I don't want to see him any worse!_ The sand-nin gulped for air and nodded, showing he was willing to cooperate. "H-he's in the a-" A kunai knife came out of the forest and planted itself in Eiji's forehead, effectively cutting off his sentence and ending his life.

"Here I thought that I would have to come out here to save you from Eiji's hounds so I could torture our prisoner..." Tsukiko walked out of from behind a tree to the left of Kakashi and he turned, dropping the dead nin and pulling out a kunai knife of his own. "You can imagine how surprised I was when I saw that you not only destroyed all of them, but you were also about to pull some secrets out of him!" She frowned and shook her head, "He was so _weak_."

"Where's my friend... Tell me where the hell my friend is!" Within a millisecond, he was next to her, one hand wrapped around her throat and the other restraining her wrists so she couldn't attack. Tsukiko looked at him, fear in her dark eyes.

"H-How are you so strong!? The other nin was so weak..."Kakashi growled threateningly and tightened his grip enough to have her gasping for air. "Ah! I'll never tell you anything! You might as well just kill me! Akemi knows to kill the prisoner if I don't come back..." She giggled breathlessly as the grip around her neck tightened even more. "Is that all you've got, big boy?"

Kakashi had had enough of her stupidity; he quickly slit her throat and broke her neck. _If I follow her trail, I'll be able to find Ru!_ He took one step and fell to his knees a pain shooting across the bridge of his nose, worse than the ones across his face he had experienced during his battle with the hounds. _What's happening...?_ He slowly got up and put a hand to his face. Noting was wrong, but the pain was still there... _I've had worse. I might as well keep going. _He began jogging into the forest from where the two sand-nin had come from, hoping he would hind his dear chuunin in one piece.

~O-Iruka-O~

Iruka was sobbing at the pain that was coursing through his body. As soon as Akemi had gotten near more private areas of his body, he had kicked out, nailing the sand-nin in the face. The sadistic ninja had slapped him a couple more times hard before pulling back to think for a second. A smile had split his horrible face as his eyes landed on the scar on Iruka's face and he moved to grab a kunai knife from his discarded pants. "Don't worry… This will only hurt… Well, it'll hurt a lot. Toshi! Hold his head still. I don't want him flailing and ruining that pretty face more than I'm about to!" He laughed and pressed the kunai against Iruka's nose, staring him in the eyes as he drew the sharp blade across the soft, sensitive skin. Unable to cry out, Iruka had tried to squirm away from the pain, only succeeding in making it cut deeper. He hated to admit it, but he had screamed.

Now, he was crying as the blood flowed down his face and Akemi continued touching him in more and more disturbing ways, always bruising and drawing as much blood as possible. He didn't know if he could take it anymore… Akemi grinned up at him, grinning wider when he realized he was crying.

"What's wrong, love?" He sneered and reached up to wipe away some of the blood on his face so he could see his reaction better. He wiped the mess onto Iruka's chest before tapping his cheek lightly, near enough to the fresh wound to make the chuunin wince in pain. "Does it hurt?" He was using a mocking voice that only made Iruka glare at him, his anger flaring up through the pain. "_Good._ Just wait, love. It's only going to get worse." The way he grabbed his ass and leered as the brown haired ninja only made everyone in the room believe him.

_Oh Kami…Not that…Please not that…_Iruka whimpered softly and shook his head. But Akemi wasn't one to listen to anyone…

~O-Pakkun-O~

Pakkun arrived at the asylum and heard Iruka's scream of pain. After running around to find a low enough to jump through, the pug quickly sniffed out where the chuunin was, sneaking by the man at the door and gasping at the sight in front of him: Iruka was naked and covered in blood with a man kneeling in front of him. The man stood and laughed evilly before having Iruka turned around and bent over slightly. Acting quickly, Pakkun sent up a short prayer, _Kami… Please don't punish me for this…_He jumped at Akemi, biting down hard on his prominent erection. The boy screamed.

Iruka gasped and stared at the pug who he had been told was dead. "Pakkun!" He managed to speak around the gag and around the tears of joy that were threatening to leak out. If Pakkun was here, then that meant that Kakashi wasn't far behind. _I'm saved… Thank you Kami!... I'm saved… _Iruka allowed himself sink into the blackness that had been threatening to overtake him since Akemi had opened his scar, filled with peace knowing he would soon be safe.


	4. The Dark Angel

**AN:** Gosh, sorry for the wait. And the crappy update... I'll speed up my next one I swear! And make it better! *Sniffles* Forgive me? Anyway, read and review~ Reviews make me work faster :3

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~O-Pakkun, Akemi, Iruka-O~

Pakkun couldn't believe what he was doing for Kakashi's stupid chuunin… Not only did he have to almost bite a dirty sand nin's dick off, but he also had to protect the now passed out chuunin from the dirty sand nin's cronies. Why hadn't the boss sent Bull on this mission...? He would have been much better suited for the stress of babysitting…

He yelped softly as one of the two other nin tried to grab him, bolting closer to Iruka's motionless body. Growling loudly, the pug snapped at the hands of the men as they came closer, glad that they were too stupid to realize that he was a ninja himself.

"S-stupid idiots! That dog is with the silver haired intruder! Kill him!" Akemi was propped up in a corner, pain and hatred in his face. "If you don't, I'm sure Tsukiko will have fun with you two…"

Pakkun's attention was focused once again on the two men in front of him as they lunged to grab him. He laughed at how unbelievably slow they were, "How are you two dunces even ninja? I bet a drunk Genma could out maneuver you!" He felt hands on him and he realized his mistake; he had forgotten about Akemi…

The evil sand nin had taken a chance to heal himself while the pug was distracted and busy, then he had slipped around to grab him from behind. "Stupid dog… I really don't see how any of you could be ninja… This one is too weak," He gestured at Iruka, "You aren't observant of your surroundings at all, and that silver haired nin looked much too lazy to do anything!" He laughed harshly and shifted his hands to hold Pakkun by the scruff of his neck, looking into his eyes with hate filled ones before turning him to face the bloody, unconscious Iruka. "Why do you even care about this stupid weakling? You and your master could be halfway home by now, eh? Why stay and fight for him? Unless…" He turned and looked at Iruka thoughtfully, pondering this for a second before grinning. "He must be important in your village! Why else would you give him the status of a Konoha ninja?" Laughing harshly, he gave the pug to Toshi and took a few steps forward to crouch in front of the chuunin. "We'll be able to get secrets _and_ money out of you~ Well… After I'm that is."

Pakkun opened his mouth to snap at him, to tear him a new one, but was cut off as the tall, bloody figure in the door spoke. "He's a damn fine ninja, much better than you could ever hope to be. How do you think he's survived this torture that you and your friends have put him through? He would _never _break. He's a true ninja of Konoha…"

"Boss!" The pug was happy for a split second before he growled softly. "Took your damn sweet time, didn't ya?"

Akemi glared at the silver haired figure in the door, his heart skipping a beat as he recognized him. "Ninja of Konoha… Why haven't Tsukiko or Eiji destroyed you yet!? Why aren't you dead?"

Kakashi smirked, tossing something at the livid sand nin before him. "Because _they_ are." Akemi's hand shot out, snatching the flying object out of the air.

"What do you-" He paused, his eyes widening as he glanced down at the two headbands in his hand, the symbol of sand clearly etched into the blood stained metal plating. "What the hell did you do to them!? How could a weakling Konoha ninja beat two of the strongest members of this group!?" His hand tightened on the headbands and he growled lowly. "Yoichi! Toshi! Show him what we do to people who kill our own…"

~O-o-o-o-O~

The next minute went by in a blur to Pakkun. He was tossed in the general direction of Iruka's unconscious form while Akemi's men jumped at his boss. He watched as they were both quickly killed, one with a well placed blow to the chest and one with many shuriken and kunai sticking out of his body. Akemi slowly backed away, a feral growl building in his throat. Knowing he had lost, he quickly began forming the seals for transportation, deciding that running away like a coward and living was better than dying with honor.

After the sand nin disappeared with a pop, Kakashi slumped slightly, his hair and clothes stained with the blood of so many others. The only thoughts running through his head were ones of Iruka, only wanting him to be fine… "Pakkun. How is he?"

"He's bleeding badly, boss, but it's slowing down. He needs medical treatment as soon as possible." The pug looked worriedly at how much blood was on the chuunin's face and, well everywhere on him. "Those bastards reopened his scar…"

Kakashi strode over to the motionless man, a growl starting low in his throat. "We need to get him back to Konoha now!" He bent down and picked Iruka up; being careful of all the injuries he seemed to have. "Run ahead of us and tell Tsunade to get ready… Tell her what happened."

Pakkun nodded his small head and dashed out the door, not looking back to his boss or the chuunin. If he had, he would have seen Kakashi's uncovered face buried in Iruka's bloody, matted hair. A lone tear leaked out of his uncovered eye, dripping down into the brunette locks, mingling with the blood that had somehow ended up there. _Please Iruka… Don't leave me… Don't be like everyone else has been… Please…_

With that, Kakashi strode purposefully out the door, his pace picking up once he left the building. _Just a little longer…_ Less than six hours and they would be back at the village hidden in leaves where Iruka's fate would be in the hands of some of the best medic nin Kakashi knew. Hopefully they could save him.

~O-Iruka's Dream-O~

He stood there, pain in his body, but happiness in his heart. _Why… Why am I here?..._ He sighed and looked around into the complete blackness around him. _What is this…_ A spot ahead of him was illuminated in a bright light, not unlike the one that brightened the spot that he stood. In the spot stood a lone man, all in black, wings the color of coal folded on his back. His hair was lighter color, a soft looking grey, and his eyes matched almost perfectly.

"Excuse me. Where am I?..." His voice was low, hoarse, as if he had been screaming for the past couple hours. He couldn't remember if he had been or hadn't been… It was hard to remember anything due to the pain that was slowly spreading through his body.

The winged man said nothing; he only glanced back at him with a sad look in his eyes, pleading for something that he couldn't discern.

"Come with me~" A soft silky voice whispered in his ear, "Come with me and I'll make all your troubles go away~" A small blonde man popped into his circle of light, all smiles and laughs. "You don't need him, he'll only cause you pain~ Right Kakashi? Haven't you hurt enough people?"

"Ka… Kashi?" He frowned. _Why does that name sound so familiar?... Where have I…_ He was startled out of his thoughts by the blonde man tugging at his arm.

"Come now~ He can't give you what I can~" He recoiled from the sickeningly sweet voice and smile, stepping out of his circle.

"Kakashi… Where am I?" He took a few more steps toward the winged man, reaching out for him in the darkness.

"You're going home, Ru… You're home…" He smiled a soft smile and Iruka (he now remembered his own name) fell into his arms, holding him tightly.

"I want that, Kakashi…" A screech came from behind him, and when he turned, he saw a grotesque looking monster in the place where he had been, where the blonde had been. "What…"

"You've cheated death Ru… You chose me over him… Do you trust me?..."

"Y-yes?" He felt nothing but trust and love for the man before him, though he knew not why.

"Then wake up. I'll make it better, I'll protect you, I swear to you…"

Iruka felt himself slowly drifting away from the grey haired man, no matter how much he tried to hold on to him. "Kakashi?"

"I'll see you soon, Ru… I love you."

The last few words were muffled and distant to the brown haired man. He felt himself drifting, flying through the air, but he felt warm and strong arms around him. Arms that his mind said belonged to the mysterious man in his dreams, who promised to protect him, and that was all that mattered.


	5. Sleeping Beauty

**AN: **TWO CHAPTERS IN TWO DAYS! WOOT WOOT! I'm so good~ Remember read and Review~ Ideas are always welcome! Oh and...

**Disclaimer:** I dun own Naruto and all that. If I did KakaIru would be canon~

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~O-Iruka, Kakashi, Naruto -O~

"Iruka? Iruka-sensei, please, you need to wake up… Please…"

The voice slowly pulled the chuunin towards consciousness. _Whose voice is that…? It's so familiar… Who…_ He opened his eyes sluggishly and winced, that small movement tugging painfully at the skin across his nose. _Why…? _He blinked a few times before turning his eyes toward his visitor, whose head was resting on the bed while he sobbed. "Naruto? What are you doing here?" The words weren't more than a whisper, but the blond head shot up.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto bounced in his seat joyously, obviously trying not to throw himself at his former teacher. "You're awake! Finally!"

Iruka chuckled at how full of energy his favorite former pupil was, "Yes, Naruto, I'm awake. You have to tell me, though… Why am I in the hospital in the first place?"

The blonde-haired ninja's face fell slightly. "Don't you remember, Iruka-sensei?"

"Remember what? The last thing I remember is leaving on a mission with Kakashi-sensei." His face pulled into a frown at the thought. "Why am I back here in Konoha?" He was obviously in the hospital, in the ICU, though he knew not why. He didn't feel very sick, and he didn't seem to have a very life threatening injury.

"I… You got hurt. Badly. And pervert-sensei brought you back just in time…" His blue eyes filled with tears as he remembered just how hurt his dear sensei had been, how weak he had looked, how Tsunade had almost not been able to save him. "You lost a lot of blood. We… You almost died. You've been out for almost two weeks."

The chuunin gaped at the blond. "T-Two weeks? My classes? What ha-"

"Would you like to know what happened, Iruka?" Kakashi was perched on the windowsill, his visible eye full of emotions that Iruka didn't want to acknowledge.

"Yes! And I would appreciate it if you would learn to use a door like any normal person… Just because you're a jounin and a ninja doesn't mean you _have_ to use the window!"

"Iruka you're really back!" Naruto couldn't help himself that time as he gave Iruka a hug tight enough to make him wince in pain. "I was so worried."

"Go away, dunce… It's time for the adults to speak…"

"Shut up pervert-sensei! Just because you save him and were here ever day doesn't mean you get to monopolize his time and attention!" The blond glared up at the jounin, his face red with anger.

"Learn that word from Sakura? Now go." His visible eye narrowed as he gestured toward the door. "Go stalk her or search for Sasuke or something equally as trivial."

Hurt crossed the boy's face as he stood. "Don't talk about Sasuke like he's nothing. He's my best friend…" He glared again and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. A few seconds later, Iruka could hear a nurse scolding him for being so loud in a hospital.

"You know… You didn't have to be so rude to him…" Iruka turned his focus to the grey haired jounin. "If I've really been out for a few weeks, then he's probably been going through a lot…"

"So have I Iruka…" He sighed and slumped into the chair that Naruto had been occupying previously. "I volunteered to take over that class of little brats until you woke up and were in shape to teach again. I don't see how you do it…"

"I've learned that you have to have patience and understanding. You also have to know how they think so they don't mess around in class. I used to be just as bad as- Why am I telling you this? What in Kami's name happened on that mission?"

Kakashi took a deep breath before leaning in closer to the chuunin so he wouldn't have to speak too loudly. "We ran into a group of missing nin from the Village Hidden in Sand. They captured you when you went off to look for the orphanage and they did some pretty nasty things. Their apparent leader, her name was Tsukiko, tried to make you break. She… Are you sure you want to hear this, Iruka?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. I want to know what the hell they did to me." His dark eyes flashed, telling the jounin that if he didn't continue, bad things would happen.

Kakashi sighed as he stared off into the distance, remembering things he didn't exactly want to. "You were chained to the wall at first. They cut off pieces of your skin to try to get information out of you, or because they seemed to find it to be fun… Either way, it was horrible. They stabbed kunai into your upper arms." _And I still don't know why I felt the pain as well… _"You may or may not be able to use your right one much anymore from all the damage they caused. Then this blonde boy, Akemi I think was his name, tried to take advantage of you. He was the true leader, though only Tsukiko knew that. He… Kami, Iruka… He reopened your scar and tried to rape you…"

Iruka stared at the grey haired man with wide eyes. Now that he thought about it, there was a pain his face and arms that he couldn't seem to shake. "What…" A few memories came back to him, of finding the asylum, of being captured, of Akemi doing those horrible things to him. His final memory was of the dream he had woken up to. The dream that had Kakashi with those beautiful black wings and comforting embrace. He felt his face flush and turned his head away. "Did he do it? What happened...?"

"Pakkun saved you from him and protected you until I could get there. Then I… Did what had to be done to get you home." He decided to leave out that Akemi was still out there and alive, he didn't want Iruka to worry over that fact.

"The orphanage..."

"There wasn't one. A larger team went out to try to find it, but all they came across was the children's asylum. It was misinformation that there was one. It was most likely supplied by the sand-nin to try to capture an unsuspecting ninja or person that was there to help." Kakashi couldn't help the anger at the ninja for doing that, especially since his Iruka was hurt from their scheme. _Wait… My Iruka? Damn it… He doesn't like you Hatake… Remember that. He's not yours. He's probably going to be some girl's…_ He sighed, standing and excusing himself. "I have to go report to the Hokage now. She sent for me earlier, but I just had to see if you were doing better." He cheekily saluted the bedridden chuunin, quickly climbing out of the window before he could be scolded again.

~O-Kakashi, Tsunade, Naruto-O~

"Come on! Let me do it, Hokage-sama! I know I'd be really good at it!" Kakashi heard Naruto's whining voice as he approached the Hokage's office and almost turned around.

"No, Naruto. I already have a perfectly capable ninja that I am assigning to do th-"

"I bet it's that stupid Kakashi… He won't be able to do it! He's too much of a pervert!" The jounin froze at that. _What the hell is that brat talking about…? I could do almost anything better than he could!_

A pause in the conversation. "Hatake, get your ass in here!" He obeyed, only slightly disturbed that Tsunade knew he was perched outside of her window.

"Yo." He ignored the two glares he received, one from Naruto for being there and one from the hokage for not being respectful. "You called, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes. I have a new long term mission for you, brat." Her eyes narrowed at him, daring him to try to refuse it. She held out a scroll to him before turning back to Naruto. "Why are you still here? I said no. End of discussion."

"But Hoka-"

"No! Now go before I assign you a month long assignment with Gai!" Naruto paled at that and nodded.

"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama!" He bowed before dashing out of the room. Not even this was important enough to get a long-term mission with Gai-sensei.

"Stupid brat… So, Hatake, why are you still here? Go do your mission!"

The jounin frowned, shaking his head before offering the scroll back to Tsunade. "I can't do any long term missions for a while. At least not until Iruka is better. I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"You're a bigger brat than he is…" She sighed as she stood, taking the scroll and reading aloud from it. "'Mission Assignment: Watch over and protect Umino Iruka until the missing nin from the Village Hidden in Sand are found and neutralized.' Do you know what that means? It means that you get to stay with Iruka and protect him. You also have to help him get better and work with him to get his arm back into working shape. You'll be there to help him as much as possible, all day, every day until this Akemi is found and destroyed. Since you don't want it though…"

"No! I'll take it…" He snatched the scroll from her, cradling it against his chest, protecting it from Tsunade taking it again. "I'm sorry. I spoke before I knew what was in the scroll."

"Damn straight you're sorry… No go! Protect him." Kakashi started toward the door, a smile gracing his lips beneath his mask. "Hatake!" He turned back toward her, "You'll be staying at his house, not yours. And remember not to get too excited. He may still hate you from the past."

He only nodded, turning once again and leaving the office. Once away from the Hokage tower, he began forming the seals for teleportation, he had a chuunin to go guard.

~O-Iruka's Dream-O~

After Kakashi had left, Iruka had fallen into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of the tall winged man:

"Why am I back here?" He looked around, seeing nothing in the circle of light he was in and even more nothing in the darkness beyond.

"Because you wanted to see me again. Consciously or subconsciously." The grey haired man who looked like his namesake in every aspect except for the dark black wings appeared next to him, startling him.

"W-who would want to see you again!? Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

"You wanted to see me again. Or I would not be here. It is _your_ dream after all." The man smirked down at Iruka, obviously amused at the way he tried to deny his feelings.

"Like hell I wanted to see you! I'm sure it's because I'm mad at the real you…" He huffed slightly, crossing his arms across his chest and turned away from this 'Kakashi'.

"If you were mad at me, you wouldn't be dreaming about you and me alone in a place like this. You'd be dreaming of you beating me half to death." He came up behind the chuunin, his arms sliding around his waist. "Instead, we're here. You aren't fighting me off. I think there's something you want from me."

As much as Iruka wanted to stay in those safe feeling arms for forever, he pulled away from the grey haired man. "What do you me- mmph!" A pair of warm, moist, absolutely delicious lips against his own surprised him, and after stiffening from the initial shock, he relaxed into the embrace of the other man. When they broke apart for air (he didn't know why he needed air so much, he was in his own dream after all…), the brunette smiled up at the winged man. "M-Maybe I did want something from you."

"Of course you did, Ru. Now wake up. You have a visitor~" Winged Kakashi smiled and disappeared into the darkness, a grin still on his lips. _Wait… Does this count as me seeing Kakashi without a mask on?_ Iruka pondered that as the dream slowly faded and he slipped into consciousness.

~O-Kakashi-O~

He stepped into Iruka's room, through the door this time, and froze. The brunette chuunin was asleep, a soft smile gracing his features. Kakashi couldn't help himself and, after he checked that no one was coming, he strode over to the bed, pulling his mask down in the process. He leaned down, gently cupping Iruka's injured cheek before lightly pressing his lips to the sleeping man's. _Sorry Iruka… I need this at least…_

He froze when he felt the soft lips respond, but after checking to make sure that Iruka was still asleep, he deepened the kiss. He heard a soft moan, from who he wasn't sure, but it only spurred him on. He kissed the chuunin until he was breathless, pulling away and pressing their foreheads together as he caught his breath. Then he heard it, so soft it was almost a whisper.

"Kakashi…"

Iruka was saying his name in his sleep… _Oh Kami… This mission may be harder than I thought…_ He sat in the chair next to the bed after pulling up his mask. He had to a lot to think about for the next couple of months, and almost all of those thoughts centered on the sleeping chuunin before him.

When Kakashi saw Iruka begin to stir, he leaned the chair back, feigning sleep. _I can't interact with him… not after that…_ He pretended until he heard the brunette's breathing even out, then he slowly slipped into sleep himself, hoping his dreams would help him sort things out.


	6. Jutsu Gone Wrong

AN: Uhm... To all my followers... I'M SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSO SORRY. *dies in a corner.* I've had school and exams and everything and... Forgive me? Pwease? :3 Not to mention my new obsession with Homestuck... So... Anyone who has any ideas for this story, review or pm me? I'll write a oneshot for the best suggestion xD

Disclaimer~ I wish I owned, but I, unfortunately, do not...

Enjoy! :D

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~O-Iruka, Sleeping Kakashi, Sakura-O~

Iruka woke up slowly, his mind still in a daze. What had that dream been about? Sure, Kakashi was insanely attractive and Iruka had dreamt about him before, but the dreams had never been so… Real? Lifelike? Frustrating?

He slowly sat up and groaned as his skin tightened where the stitches and bandages held it together. It was nothing like the pain he remembered having with the Sand-nin, but it was still unpleasant. He felt weak and helpless, being reduced to a trembling mess from just sitting up. _Kami… I can't wait until I can get out of here. I need to train. Get my strength. Work out what to do with this stupid arm…_

His right arm was currently numb, an ache the only indication that it wasn't completely useless. He was glad that he might not have to learn to make any signs one handed. Perhaps Kakashi could help him…? _WAIT. Why am I still thinking about him!? Gah!_ His head dropped into his good hand as he breathed in a few deep breaths, starting when he heard a soft sigh coming from the chair next to the bed. "Wha..?"

His head whipped around, eyes training on Kakashi's figure, trying to assess if he truly was asleep or faking it. He breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head when he decided the copy-nin was asleep. "Damn it Kakashi… You're stalking me, aren't you..? First my dreams and now in real life… I'm not complaining, but…" But he couldn't stand being around the sexy, amazing ninja for long without getting cranky, the fact that he wasn't his irritating him more than Naruto or Konohamaru ever could. He could look at him, lust after him, and even be friends with him but Kami forbid of he tried to touch! "Ever since Mizu betrayed us… You've been on my mind… I… Fuck. Kakashi… I can't stand it anymore!" His head dropped to his hand again as he trembled, his emotions getting the best of him.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders and he jumped, ashamed that he hadn't heard the person move or approach him. He leaned into their body, his trembling subsiding slightly. "Are you alright, Iruka-Sensei?" Sakura's soft voice calmed him even more and he nodded.

"Y-Yes. I suppose I am. I was just… Everything kind of … My emotions…" He searched for the words to explain how he was feeling, letting out a soft growl of frustration when he couldn't come up with any good words.

"It was a bit too much all of a sudden, wasn't it? But… I… Sorry if I'm prying, but I've seen how you look at Kakashi-sensei when he's not looking. He looks at you the same way." She smiled softly, looking between the sleeping man and the one she was supporting. "I think that you both are hiding the same thing, but… I'm not sure." She shrugged before gently helping Iruka back onto his back, fluffing up his pillows and covering him with the blankets. "If you need anything else, just press this button, okay? I'll be back in the morning to check you over and talk some more. I have to make my rounds, though!" She giggled and kissed his forehead like a mother would their child. "Good night, Iruka-sensei. And good night to you too, Kakashi-sensei, you eavesdropper." She walked off, muttering good-naturedly about stupid men who couldn't sort through their own feelings and stupid ninja who couldn't even spy correctly.

Kakashi's single eye opened slowly, meeting Iruka's wide, chocolaty ones with a steely, indecipherable look. "Is… Is it true, Iruka?"

The chuunin looked down, ashamed that he had been found out. "Yes it is, Kakashi-sensei. I've… fancied you ever since you took Naruto under your care and treated him so well, but… I think it started well before then…"

"When. Explain it all to me."

Iruka looked up, terrified, and nodded. "O-Of course…"

~O-Le past-O~

Iruka sighed as he walked toward his house, dreading the piles of paperwork awaiting him. He had gotten a job at the Academy about a month ago and his workload had almost tripled compared to when he was a student teacher. It was insane! Not to mention the fact that the Hokage insisted that he handle important work at the Missions desk, which gave him even more work on top of the messy little ninja writing that he had to decipher and grade…

Had he eaten that day yet? Probably not, though he remembered, or thought he remembered, eating an apple as he had graded papers during lunch break. Maybe that's why he felt so weird today? So empty…

He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts together as he approached his apartment. Was everything always so shimmery and shiny with little waves going through it? Hmmm… He'd have to get that checked on his free day next weekend.

His vision only got worse as he stepped into his living room and dropped his papers onto the desk. Had he closed the door behind him? He really should go check. He turned and gasped as the world lurched around him and he was suddenly on his hands and knees, barely able to hold himself up. "Help…" It came out as a whisper as the world around him went black.

He lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness for days, unable to do much more than moan in pain and hunger. No one came, assuming he was taking a well-deserved break from his hectic life. (He did deserve one. He had been working nonstop since he had become a chuunin, often working himself to exhaustion so he could help mould young minds, helping them on their journey to become ninja.) Iruka slowly made his way to the kitchen in one of his bouts of consciousness, reaching up onto the counter to try and possibly find something to drink or to eat. He gripped at what he assumed was one of the fruits he had around the kitchen and smiled in relief. Maybe this would help…

He retracted his hand, the fruit in tow, but he started losing himself to the darkness again. He tried to move faster, but his movements brought down the cutting board that the apple had been on down with his prize. Sharp knives hit the ground around him, one or two nicking him. One, though, stabbed through his hand, drawing a cry from him. Maybe if he didn't move, there wouldn't bee too much blood? Oh… Too late… The last thing that he saw as he lost consciousness yet again was a shock of silver hair flying across the room, kneeling before him, his name flying from the figure's lips.

Iruka was in the hospital for almost a week as they tried to figure out what was wrong with him. In the end, they decided that it had been one of his students' idea of a prank. They had set some sort of trap, something to make him sleep through the next day so they would have a day off with a substitute. They hadn't known that the Chuunin's weakened, slightly malnourished body would react the way it had, knocking him out for almost a week. If a certain Jounin hadn't been on his way to the marked and hadn't heard Iruka's cry of pain, he most likely still would be laying on the ground in his own blood either dead or close enough that no Medic-nin could have saved him.

When he asked who saved him, the doctors frowned and looked at each other. "He doesn't like his identity to be given out… I'm sure that you'll hear of him soon enough. He just got back to the village from an extended mission." That had been the day that Kakashi had started his civilian life after his time as an ANBU, so everyone had been told to keep quiet about his past as much as possible. Iruka couldn't help but remember the silver hair and how the nurses talked about the gorgeous Jounin that had hung around while he had been out. With those two clues, he had gone out in search of his savior, learning his name and trying to think of how he could repay the man.

Hatake Kakashi. The elusive Copy-nin. Three months later and that was still all Iruka knew of the man. He hadn't caught even glimpse of him and was beginning to wonder if he was real. He was learning to manage his time much better now, using his down time at the mission desk to grade and look through the missions he had to assign. It had also helped that he had talked to the Hokage to lighten his load at the desk. He only worked ever other day, and even then he only gave out some of the hardest and most top secret missions- the missions too easy for the ANBU to do that fell to the Jounin of the village.

One day, he was pouring over his students' test from the day before when a scroll dropped unceremoniously before him, the scrawl on it not much better than his starting students' writing. He glared up at the Jounin who had given it to him, barely holding back a gasp at the silver hair. "What the hell is this?"

"My mission report?" He looked surprised, either by how Iruka glared at him or by seeing him and being stood up to.

Iruka threw it back at him, almost smiling at how easily he caught it. "Rewrite it in handwriting better than the children, please."

They bantered back and forth for a few more minutes before the easy smile on Iruka's face became too much for him to handle. He never smiled like this at work! "I have to go, Jounin. Hand that in to the person at the table tomorrow and make sure it's neater!"

"Whatever you say, Iruka-Sensei." He smirked as he disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Iruka blushed brightly, his heart beating like crazy as he stared at the spot that Kakashi had been in. _Fuck. I… Fuck._

Events similar to this happened for a few more months before Iruka realized why his heart went so crazy around the amazing Jounin. He was in love… He was in love with a man. And not with just any man. He was in love with one of the most important and secretive Ninja in the village. He was in trouble…


End file.
